Queen's Shadow || Kingdom at the End of the World - Book II

[32.1] All Roads Home

The distance between the Dvor and the Capital was not short.

Valeri and his Sire set off soon after the fate of the Dvor's Lords was revealed. Iavor did not appear at all moved by the demise of his peers. It was Valeri who felt the need to question their new companion about the Dvor's final moments, unable to come to terms with the idea of a world without the Dvor's towering presence.

"Some ran, some stayed. In the end, it was all for naught – I said so already, did I not?" Kai drawled.

"That is hardly a convincing account," Valeri huffed.

The phoenix chirped a laugh. "My, my. One would think you cared for the old fogeys. Did you not swear eternal hatred in the wake of Iavor's oh-so-tragic death? Such fickle creatures you mortals are."

Valeri scowled. He had lived as a vampire far longer than he had as a mortal man – a fact that never mattered to the Dvor. "Not all of the Dvor's Lords were intolerable bigots," he spat.

Kai laughed again. He soared lazily, then swooped in to hover above Zenith, keeping pace with the beast's mad run. His wings were burning flames. They lit the night sky, casting red shadows over the land.

"You are thinking of Old Tibor, I suppose?" Kai said.

Valeri nodded with some reluctance. Old Tibor was a tortoise spirit, his body larger than a village house and as sturdy as a mountain. He was the only kind face Valeri recalled among the Dvor's Lords. When Iavor had passed, Old Tibor alone had reached out to Valeri in any sort of consolation.

"That stubborn old man, of course he remained," Kai said. "His shell was probably picked clean by those maggots, if you want a memento."

Valeri stiffened in shock. He had suspected the man to be dead, but to hear his demise spoken of so flippantly was still painful.

"Kai," Iavor said, warning clear in his voice.

The phoenix chirped in amusement. "Come now, Iavor – what is so tragic about death? All that is born in this world must die. You coddle the boy without reason."

"You seem well enough," Valeri spat, insulted by the man's flippant attitude enough to momentarily forget his manners.

"Naturally," Kai sniffed. "I am not of this world, dear boy. Life and death have no claim on my kind."

Valeri turned to Iavor, surprise clear in his eyes.

"The phoenix is a heavenly creature, unbound by the laws of our realm," Iavor agreed.

Valeri's expression darkened further. "Did you attempt to aid those besieged in the lake?" he asked.

"Why would I do such a thing?" Kai wondered, voice pitched high and innocent.

Valeri ground his teeth. He felt Iavor's hand on his forearm, the weight of it consoling.

"Enough," Iavor said. "Kai, if you have joined this quest with the sole purpose of seeking amusement, I would advise you to remain behind."

"Oh, it is a quest now, is it?" Kai said. "And here I thought I was accompanying you to the gallows. Front row seats are not easy to secure, you must know."

"I rather assumed you wished to see the Queen," Iavor replied calmly.

Kai fell silent. Valeri tried to make out the man's expression, but found his sight affected by a sweep of fiery feathers.

"As if she deserves my farewell," the man said, then soared upward amid a flurry of burning embers.

"He did not leave Tiber behind by choice," Iavor said once the annoying bird was out of sight.